Aftermath
by PinkPenguin18
Summary: SPOILERS FOR ALL 4 GAMES! Set over GS3 and GS4. Friendfic. Slightly AU/canon tweaking. Explanation in chapter 2! Contains characters from both Phoenix arc and Apollo arc. P/M later on. UPDATED!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Wayhay! First PW fic. Please Review!**

It was seven in the evening before the three missing members of the party entered Tres Bien. Maya and Pearl were talking excitedly about what they were going to eat, with Phoenix trailing behind, tie wonky and loose.

Maya and Pearl greeted the rest of the group and sat down at the table opposite Franziska and Edgeworth. Gumshoe had managed to book a 'table for eight' that actually just involved sticking two existing tables for four together. Gumshoe himself was sat next to Larry, who was sitting in the corner, grinning at the girls, while Edgeworth and Franziska were sitting opposite. Franziska's hand was moving closer to her whip as she glared at Larry for his dumbfounded stare. Edgeworth just smiled at Maya and Pearl, but continued to look unappreciative of the scene of their celebration. Phoenix slumped down in the seat next to Edgeworth and put his jacket on the back of the seat.

'You alright, Nick?' Maya asked, grinning. She looked so tired, but so upbeat to be back with her friends.

'Yeah, I'm fine, Maya. You enjoy the meal.' Phoenix said, flashing a fake smile. He received a smile back from Maya and Pearl, but a raised eyebrow from Edgeworth.

The group ordered their food and waited patiently, conversing about what Franziska and Edgeworth had been upto, much to the 'delight' of the topics of conversation. Edgeworth let out a sigh of relief when Larry drew the attention onto himself by outlining the ideas for 'Franzy's Whippity-Whip Trip', earning himself a set of daggers from his 'model'.

Eventually the food came and went, and, to Phoenix, it was as disgusting as before. He ate as much as he could of it, about half a plateful of really bad 'French' lasagne. Most of the other's at the table did the same, bar Gumshoe, Maya and Pearl, who ate like it was all you can eat.

'I better not be paying for this…' Phoenix mumbled under his breath, praying that Gumshoe wouldn't go back on his promise.

After all the plates had been cleared away, Maggey came over and handed them desert menus.

'You guys want desert, I take it, sir?' Maggey asked Gumshoe, who blushed and nodded.

Phoenix begged to differ 'I don't think that-'

'Of course we do, Maggey! Two all you can eat ice creams please, for me and Pearly!' Maya said.

Phoenix winced at the kick in the shins he received from Pearl under the table for differing in opinion with Maya.

Truth be told, he wasn't feeling too well still. He managed to hurl himself out of bed the day before, for the girls' sake, but now he just wanted to go back to his flat, and sleep. He felt bad he wasn't too keen on celebrating, but he would rather celebrate when he was more up to the task of at least keeping up with Maya for one course.

Maya and Pearl received their bowls and ran excitedly over to the ice cream machine, where they filled their bowls up to the brim and began decorating the tops with all sorts of grotesquely coloured sweets.

'I'm off to the toilet, back in a tick.' Phoenix muttered to Edgeworth as he stood and almost broke into a run to get away from eating ice cream.

While the three of them were gone, Franziska tapped Edgeworth on the shoulder.

'I need you to do me a favour, little brother.' She said so only Edgeworth could hear her, eyes glistening.

Edgeworth's eyebrows raised, 'Go on.'

'I need you to give this to that Ace Attorney friend of ours.' She held out a white plastic card, plain on one side. 'He would appreciate it more from you, but keep it a secret, understand?'

Edgeworth frowned as he nodded and took the card. His confusion diminished however, when he turned the card over and saw the familiar calling card of Shelley de Killer with the outline of what looked like Phoenix Wright's face on it, 'Nick' was written in one corner in curly black writing.

Edgeworth grinned to himself as he tucked the card back into his pocket. His suspicions about the pair of them were true. He assured himself that he needed to pick the right moment.

_Perhaps not when he is feeling so crap, huh, Miles?_ He thought to himself, suppressing a laugh at the green contorted face of Phoenix Wright walking back to his seat.

**A/N Tada! Wow they are actually surprisingly fun to write! Yay I have a new story, I dunno how far I will go with it though…**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N This is an update post playing Apollo Justice. I have decided to take a different turn to this fic. It's a little pointless but I was disappointed with the way Phoenix appeared (from Apollo's perspective at least) to have not real contact with his old friends.**

**Therefore, this fic will undoubtedly be huge on canon-tweaking and CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR ALL ACE ATTORNEY GAMES. You have been warned!!**

**There will be countless perspective shifts in this fic. I hope they are obvious enough. Sorry if people seem OOC!**

* * *

_**Seven years later…**_

'_OBJECTION!'_

_Without thinking, Phoenix pointed his finger at the man on the stand and highlighted out his contradiction. It seemed to be a natural reaction to him; defendant or not, he couldn't help himself. The adrenalin pursed through him as it used to and the sudden rush caused an old tune he once knew to play in his head, a tune that he used to hear when he pointed out the contradiction in a witness's statement in the old days…_

Phoenix sighed.

He had not quite come to terms with his actions in court. He had been successfully defended by Apollo Justice, whom he knew was the son of Thalassa Grammarye and brother to his own adopted daughter.

'Geez, this is too much for me,' Phoenix said to himself, grimacing. He was walking down the darkened street outside the Kitaki mansion, thoughts wandering.

It took a lime green car, a flash of pain in his ankle and a blow to the head that sent him crashing into a pile of paint pots to jolt him from his thoughts.

* * *

There was something about this country.

News was always immediate. He was only visiting this country for a few months to bring himself up to date with the court proceedings and to visit a few old friends. In fact, he was planning on leaving for Germany the next day.

Turns out for Miles Edgeworth that turning on the TV in his hotel room that night caused him to put off his flight.

'…_in fact it seemed to be quite a mysterious night for the park tonight, as Jon Howard will inform you now.'_

'_Thanks Janet. Yes, not only was there a murder at the People Park this evening, but a once famous defence attorney was struck by a car in what seemed to be a hit-and-run.'_

Miles raised an eyebrow.

'_The ex-Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright, disbarred for evidence forgery seven years ago, was his by a lime green Laguna this evening. Mr. Wright is in a stable condition down at Hickfield's and police are calling for any witnesses to-'_

**Click!**

Miles turned the television off and lay the remote down in shock. He said in silence for a few seconds before grabbing his magenta jacket, cellphone and a satchel. Hesitating at the door, with a sudden air of realisation, he threw the papers he had written into the satchel and powered for the door.

* * *

Miles just sat and stared at the bed, face gaunt with worry. He had only been at the clinic for ten minutes, yet it had felt like hours. Silence hung in the room, apart from the raspy breathing from the bed and the occasional 'Hmm... yes,' coming from the other side of the door.

_Why are you so worried? _He asked himself, _you read the reports; mister invincible does it again! Sprained ankle and concussion, that's all. You would have died in this situation, Miles! He's fine!_

Despite the miraculous invincibility of his old friend, something still bothered Edgeworth.

It was the first time Miles had seen Phoenix Wright in nearly seven years and only the second time the since the latter had lost his badge. Was it the sight of his friend seven years on what bothered him?

_It can't be, he looks the same!_ Miles assured himself, eyes scanning the face of the injured man, recognising his jagged eyebrows and the rebellious spikes of hair that stuck out through the strips of bandage around his head.

What bothered Edgeworth was the realisation of who was lay in front of him.

Phoenix Wright, disbarred ace attorney lay on the bed in front of him. 33 years old and seven years away from the job he loved, face no longer youthful but covered in dark stubble. The pile of clothes that had been replaced by the hospital robes were folded neatly on the side of the bed. There was no slightly-tacky blue suit, white shirt or red tie. Instead there was a pair of blue jeans, a white tee and a blue/grey hoody in a pile, headed by a disgustingly turquoise beanie, emblazoned with the words 'PaPa' and a childlike badge.

Miles Edgeworth scowled to himself at the sight of that beanie.

**Bang!**

The door slammed open, startling Miles. He stood quickly before glancing back down at the bed to confirm Wright had not stirred.

Into the room staggered two people carrying stacks of what looked like thin books. In the light, Miles could confirm that they were DVDs. The two people set the DVDs down on the floor on the opposite side of the bed to Edgeworth, neither recognising his presence.

The people who brought the DVDs were two women; one looked to be in her twenties and one in her teens. It took Miles a few seconds to really register who was stood on the other side of Wright's bed.

Looking up, the older girl addressed Edgeworth politely, 'Oh! I'm sorry! I thought-'

'Maya?!' Edgeworth exclaimed upon sudden realisation, 'Is that you?'

The girl looked taken aback, before the younger girl piped up, 'Mr. Edgeworth!!'

Maya Fey stood flabbergasted. She had grown slightly taller and leaner than when Miles last saw her. Her hair was slightly shorted, although she still sported her famous 'top-knot' and her childlike fringe had been replaced by a more sophisticated side-fringe. Her young cousin Pearl had grown hugely since Edgeworth had last seen her. The fifteen year old looked more mature but just as spirited, her brown hair sporting the same hairstyle as her cousin. Both girls were wearing their acolyte-garb, purple and pink respectively, and Maya had the red necklace that signified her as the master of the Kurain tradition hung round her neck.

'No way!' Maya said, surprised, 'It is so good to see you Mr. Edgeworth, how have you been? How's Franziska?'

Miles motioned for the girls to sit and he told a brief story of how he had been getting on in Germany in the past 7 years and how his step-sister Franziska was coping under the new jury system that he had imposed, revolutionising the court system in his country. Maya and Pearl looked on excitedly, nodding ever so often or asking questions.

_They haven't changed a bit_, Edgeworth thought to himself.

Maya and Pearl returned the favour, telling Miles of how the Kurain tradition had grown in stature over the years.

'…but I had to leave the acolytes to come and see Nick tonight, they were supposed to be doing waterfall training,' Maya finished, face dropping slightly.

'I see,' Miles replied, 'Anyway, I think it is best for me to leave, it has gotten very late and I'm sure Mr. Wright here may have a heart attack if he sees me sat by his bed when he wakes up.'

Both girls laughed sadly.

'This is the first time we have seen him in, what, seven years?' Pearl said, Maya nodding in agreement, 'We heard the news and just had to come down to see him. Although I guess we are glad he isn't awake!'

'I understand,' Edgeworth said, standing up. The three of them agreed it was time to go.

Miles said his goodbyes to the two Fey girls. Maya told him she would be leaving the Steel Samurai DVDs for him to show that they had visited in the hope that he would contact them for the first time in so long.

That gave Miles an idea.

The Feys left the room and Edgeworth walked over to the satchel he had left by the door. After a quick rummage through its contents, he found the booklet he was looking for. Miles placed it on top of the pile of clothes along with a note.

_**This booklet might be of interest.**_

With a smile, Miles Edgeworth quietly closed the hospital door.

_Let's see how much you have really changed, Wright._

**A/N Sorry if it was bad! Very difficult to write these characters properly and I didn't want to make in angsty at all. It is supposed to be a fun little fic. And yes it is pretty much AU.**


	3. Chapter 3

Phoenix squinted.

He blinked through the bright beam of sunlight that shone through the hospital windows directly onto his eyes. Mumbling something about breakfast, the ex-defence attorney rolled over onto his other side, eyelids heavy.

BAM!

His head smacked against a pearly white side-cabinet, causing him to recoil and cry out, hand rising to meet the sore area. Much to his surprise, Phoenix's hand met bandage, rather than bare skin. He sat up too fast in shock, vision swimming with purple and yellow spots, a dull ache radiating through his head.

'Man...forgot I would up here.' He pressed his hand to his head, flinching slightly at a sharp pain from his ankle. Looking round quickly, Phoenix spotted a clock, telling him it was 8AM, so around an hour before Trucy would have to be at school.

Swinging his legs round so they were dangling off the side of the stiff matress, the man yawned, absent-mindedly rubbing the back of his bandaged head.

'I shouldn't even be awake at this hour...'

Taking a deep breath, Phoenix used the side cabinet that had attacked him to lever himself to his feet. He tentatively tested his injured ankle on the floor, sucking in air quickly as a shooting pain shot up his shins. Cursing, he dragged himself across the room, limping and hopping to avoid a similar pain.

The 'pianist' smiled to himself as he slipped his favourite beanie over his head, the familiar warmth embracing his ears. A dozen minutes and thousands of painful twitches later, Phoenix had managed to find himself back into his new trademark outfit, his blurry vision failing to notice the white, rectangular note that was attached to a small booklet.

He scanned the room for his bag, shuffling himself round the edge of the bed, stopping only at the echo of 'Hmmm...yes' coming from behind the door. God forbid that lunatic heard he was awake and came in for a 'morning check-up'. Spotting it at the other end of the room, Phoenix inched towards the tatty brown suede satchel until-

'ARGH!'

Hopping on his good foot, Phoenix clutched the toes of his bad foot. The same toes that had collided with something plastic and not in his line of vision. His eyes watered as he noticed a tower of DVDs overbalance and fall into a messy pile on the floor.

'What the-' The ex-defence attorney sat himself on the bed and gingerly rubbed his tender ankle. Blinking a number of times, he managed to focus on the pile of DVDs and picked one up with his free hand. His brow furrowed.

'Steel...Samurai: Warrior...of...Neo Old...Tokyo...' he read slowly, mind whirring, 'Series...17...Episode 48. Wait, what?'

Phoenix examined the case again in his hand as if he had never seen anything like it in his life. Glancing over at the rest of the pile, he noticed similar boxes lining the floor, all of which he recognised.

'Steel Samurai? But I haven't owned any of these since...' A small lump rose in his throat as he placed the DVD back on the white sheets. Memories locked away in the far reaches of Phoenix's mind resurfaced as he rubbed his foot.

* * *

_You have...seven...new messages._

_BEEEEEEP! Nick? Nick, what's going on? Why haven't I heard from you? Hmmm...I'm sure everything's alright, i'll just ring back later._

_BEEEEEEP! Not in again, huh? Someone found a social life? Haha. Try again later._

_BEEEEEEP! Ok this is getting irritating now, Nick. Pick up the damn phone!_

_BEEEEEEP! ...Nick...Nick it's been 24 hours. I won't be back for the rest of the week. It's not like you to not reply to messages..._

_BEEEEEEP! Have I done something wrong, Nick? Ring me back, please._

_BEEEEEEP! ...I'll ring Mr. Edgeworth, then._

_BEEEEEEP! Mr. Nick! How could you do that to your special someone! Mystic Maya is crying! You should be ashamed of yourself!_

* * *

_Phoenix dotted the last full stop at the end of the address, watching the ink seep into a small circle at the end of the line. _

_It was finished. _

_He licked the envelope, slammed the stamp into the top corner, grabbed his coat with one hand, the hand of the small pink-clad girl in the other and headed out of the Offices._

_

* * *

_

You have...one...new message.

BEEEEEEP! Nick...I've seen the news. I'm so sorry. So sorry. Please ring me, we can get through this. Bikini said she will look after Pearl, you can come up to the village becasue I, well, can't really leave. Please Nick, I beg you.

* * *

_Phoenix fumbled with the letters that had landed on his doorstep. He licked his lips nervously as he threw 7 identical envelopes into the recycling bin. Closing his eyes and breathing out deeply, Phoenix Wright, ace pianist, went to wake his daughter._

_'Trucy!!'_

* * *

_'First class, please,' he held out the large packages._

_'Where too, sir?' The middle aged woman scowled at Phoenix's overgrown stubble and tatty jacket._

_'K-Kurain village, please.'_

_'Hmmm...' the woman stickered the packages, 'do these contain anything important?'_

_'More than you know...' the man murmured._

_'What?'_

_'No-nothing,' Phoenix laughed nervously, 'yeah, they need insuring, thanks...'_

* * *

'She really came...' Phoenix mumbled to himself and threw the old DVD back onto the pile, 'I don't believe it.'

He shook his head and tried to wipe out those memories.

_That was long ago, that Phoenix is gone. My life is different now..._

But was it? Phoenix could still remember what happened in every single one of those Samurai episodes. He remembered falling asleep during the wacked out love story that spanned all of series 10, the same love story that had Maya's eyes shining. He remembered having to put his arm round Pearls during a particularly scary episode in series 11. He remembered laughing at Maya as she jumped and dropped her popcorn during the same scene in the Christmas special.

Part of him still felt the same. Sometimes he would wake up and forget things had changed. He'd hunt for his red tie in the drawer, only to be awoken from his trance by a distant call of 'Daddy...are you awake?' from the kitchen. He was the same person, really. Bitterly, Phoenix accepted that. He just felt the need to disguise his true self beneath a turquoise beanie.

He didn't notice that he was strolling, or rather, limping around his hospital room. Phoenix's eyes were drawn to a white booklet lying on his dirty black trainers.

'What now..?' the 'pianist' mumbled.

Tiny, curly handwriting greeted Phoenix as he turned the booklet around. Handwriting he recognised.

**_This booklet might be of interest._**

'You have got to be kidding me.'

**A/N Chapter 3 done! Writer's block defeated! Please please please let me know what you think, guys! I hope you like. **


End file.
